Latest news with #raciallyMotivated
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Anti-immigration riots fuel fear and violence in Northern Ireland
Communities in Northern Ireland are reeling after two nights of anti-immigration riots left homes destroyed and tensions high. Dozens of police officers were injured in the violence, which authorities say was racially motivated.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
‘Racially motivated' rioters torch homes and cars in Northern Ireland
NewsFeed 'Racially motivated' rioters torch homes and cars in Northern Ireland Riots broke out in Northern Ireland's Ballymena after two teenage boys appeared in court accused of attempted rape. Police say the violence, which left homes and vehicles burned and officers injured, was racially motivated, following reports the suspects required a Romanian interpreter in court.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Second night of anti-immigrant riots in Northern Ireland town
Violence flared for a second night in a Northern Irish town after 'racially motivated' attacks following a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault. Hundreds of protesters, many of them masked, took to the streets of Ballymena on Tuesday, throwing petrol bombs, bottles and masonry as police responded with water cannon. There was a heavy police presence in one area of the town, about 30 miles (48km) northwest of Belfast, as protesters set fire to a car and barricades. Police also fired plastic baton rounds to disperse the crowds. The unrest first erupted on Monday night after a vigil in a neighbourhood where an alleged sexual assault had happened on Saturday. 'This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,' Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable, said on Tuesday. 'It was racist thuggery, pure and simple, and any attempt to justify it or explain it as something else is misplaced.' Tensions in the town, which has a large migrant population, remained high throughout the day on Tuesday, as residents described the scenes as 'terrifying' and said those involved were targeting 'foreigners'. 'Last night, unfortunately, has probably scared a lot of people. We are actively working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice,' said Henderson. Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court on Monday, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said. The trouble began when masked people 'broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties', police said. Security forces also came under 'sustained attack' with petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks thrown by rioters, injuring 15 officers, including some who required hospital treatment, according to the force. Four houses were damaged by fire, and windows and doors of homes and businesses were smashed. Northern Ireland saw racism-fuelled disorder in August after similar riots in English towns and cities triggered by the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, northwest England. 'Ballymena has a large migrant population; a lot of people actually work in the town and provide excellent work,' said Mayor Jackson Minford.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Police injured, houses burned in second night of riots in Northern Ireland
Hundreds of masked rioters have attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in Northern Ireland's Ballymena in the second night of disorder described as 'racially motivated' by police following a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town. Police said they were dealing with 'serious disorder' on Tuesday night in the town, located about 45km (30 miles) from the capital Belfast, and urged people to avoid the area. Officers in riot gear and driving armoured vehicles responded with water cannon and firing plastic baton rounds after being attacked with Molotov cocktails, steel scaffolding poles and rocks that rioters gathered by knocking down nearby walls, the Reuters news agency reports. One house was burned out and rioters attempted to set a second home alight, according to reports, while several cars were set on fire. The Belfast Telegraph newspaper said that some residents in Ballymena have started to mark their front doors to indicate their nationality to avoid attack, while Irish media outlets report that a call has gone out for protests to be held in other towns and cities in Northern Ireland, currently part of the United Kingdom. During earlier violence on Monday, four houses were damaged by fire and windows and doors were smashed in other homes and businesses, in what police said they are investigating as racially-motivated hate attacks. 'The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland,' the UK's Northern Ireland minister, Hilary Been, said in a post on social media. 'There is absolutely no justification for attacks on PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] officers or for vandalism directed at people's homes or property,' he said. Unrest first erupted on Monday night after a vigil in a neighbourhood of Ballymena where an alleged sexual assault occurred on Saturday. The trouble began when people in masks 'broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties', police said. Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court earlier in the day, where they had asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said. Tensions in the town, which has a large migrant population, remained high throughout Tuesday, with residents describing the scenes as 'terrifying' and telling reporters that those involved were targeting 'foreigners'. 'This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,' Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was investigating 'hate attacks' on homes and businesses and that 15 officers were injured in the rioting on Monday, including some who required hospital treatment. Cornelia Albu, 52, a Romanian migrant and mother-of-two who lives opposite a house targeted in the attacks, said her family has been 'very scared'. 'Last night, it was crazy, because too many people came here and tried to put the house on fire,' Albu, who works in a factory, told the AFP news agency. She said she would now have to move, but was worried she would not find another place to live because she was Romanian.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
N.Ireland town hit by second night of unrest
Violence flared for a second night Tuesday in a Northern Irish town after "racially motivated" attacks sparked by the arrest of two teenagers accused of attempting to rape a young girl. Hundreds of protestors, many of them masked, took to the streets of Ballymena, throwing petrol bombs, bottles and masonry as police responded with water cannon, an AFP journalist said. There was a heavy police presence in one area of the town, some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Belfast, as the protesters set fire to a car and barricades. Police also fired plastic baton rounds to disperse the crowds, an AFP journalist saw. Later as night fell, crowds began to disperse in Ballymena although smaller groups still milled around the town centre. And local media reported that protestors were also blocking roads in Belfast. The unrest first erupted Monday night after a vigil in a neighbourhood where an alleged serious sexual assault happened on Saturday. "This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police," Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said Tuesday. He told a press conference: "It was racist thuggery, pure and simply, and any attempt to justify it or explain it as something else is misplaced." Tensions in the town, which has a large migrant population, remained high throughout the day on Tuesday, as residents described the scenes as "terrifying" and told AFP those involved were targeting "foreigners". Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court Monday, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said. The trouble began when masked people "broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties", police said. Houses and businesses were attacked, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said, adding it was investigating "hate attacks". Security forces also came under "sustained attack" with petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks thrown by rioters, injuring 15 officers including some who required hospital treatment, according to the force. One 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with riotous behaviour, disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police. Four houses were damaged by fire, and windows and doors of homes and businesses smashed. Cornelia Albu, 52, a Romanian migrant and mother-of-two who lives opposite a house targeted in the attacks, said her family had been "very scared". "Last night it was crazy because too many people came here and tried to put the house on fire," Albu, who works in a factory, told AFP. She said she would now have to move, but was worried she would not find another place to live because she was Romanian. - 'Scared as hell' - A 22-year-old woman who lives next door to a burnt-out house in the same Clonavon neighbourhood said the night had been "terrifying". "People were going after foreigners, whoever they were, or how innocent they were," the woman, who did not want to share her name for security reasons, told AFP. "But there were local people indoors down the street scared as hell." Northern Ireland saw racism-fuelled disorder in August after similar riots in English towns and cities triggered by the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, northwest England. According to Mark, 24, who did not share his last name, the alleged rape on the weekend was "just a spark". "The foreigners around here don't show respect to the locals, they come here, don't integrate," said Mark. Another man was halfway up a ladder, hanging a Union Jack flag in front of his house as a "precaution -- so people know it's not a foreigner living here". "Ballymena has a large migrant population, a lot of people actually work in the town and provide excellent work," Mayor Jackson Minford told AFP. "Last night unfortunately has probably scared a lot of people. We are actively working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice," said Henderson. A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the "disorder" in Ballymena was "very concerning".
